Tuesday, August 27th, 2012

Dear Humanities Kids,

We completed the following today in class:

1. We reviewed Journal #1 entitled "What is Art. What is beauty?" The review took place by discussing your homework assignment entitled"What is Art?" Now that you have annotated and notated your reading assignment it is valuable to return to the images you commented on concerning Journal #1. Do you have a different perspective now that you have read "What is Art?"


You may not agree with this individual's choice to pierce her face, but she is clearly content and happy with her appearance. So why make a judgement?





 Dear Humanities Students,

If you missed class on Tuesday, August 27th, we completed the following:
2. Students submitted their "What are the Humanities? Why are the humanities important?" assignment.
3. We discussed their responses to the above questions, and then I gave the "official" definition for "What are the Humanities? The Humanities is the study of what affects mankind. These disciplines include music, art, religion, philosophy, drama, and literature. We also discussed the five reasons why one should study the Humanities:

1. One develops a greater ability to think critically through studying Humanities. Often criticism is considered negative, but there is also a positive side to critical skills. It includes the ability to choose good from evil, excellent from poor, and profound from superficial.

2. Another reason for studying the Humanities concerns the fact that all human beings gain pleasure from the arts. We rejoice in the creative expressions of others. We enjoy a story well told, beautiful melodies, and pleasing sculptures.

3. Studying the Humanities gives one the ability to share knowledge with future generations. Many challenging ideas have been explored during the history of this world, and we would be impoverished if we had no knowledge of them. Sharing our understanding of the Humanities guides not only ourselves, but those we choose to enlighten.

4. Studying the Humanities guides us in understanding how past generations have dealt with human challenges, emotions, and ideas.

5. Another reason for studying the Humanities is to gain vision and experience emotion to the point that we have a greater appreciation for the artists' intent.  We must see beyond the simple story, the decorative painting, the pleasing melody or the entertaining drama, in order to fully understand what the artist is trying to say about life.

HOMEWORK:
1. Please read "What are the Arts," included below, and include 7-10 annotations on each page. Copy this to a Word document and then print it off. Please place it in the "Handout" section of your notebook.
NOTE:  You were introduced to the color coding regarding your annotating and notating last class period. Each type of notation correlates to a specific color. Please see the color key below.
 

• If you  find a section of text confusing then you would underline it using BROWN.
• If you are able to make a connection to your own life then you would underline that section of text using your PURPLE.
• Another way to annotate is by asking QUESTIONS about the text. RED is the color you will use for this annotation.
• If you come across a VOCABULARY word that you don't know use YELLOW!
• If a piece of text touches you emotionally, then BLUE is the color for that annotation.
• If a piece of writing is poetic to you, then use BLACK!
• If text gives you a different perspective then GREEN is your annotation color.
• ORANGE is the color you will use if you come across text that you find interesting.

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Lesson for Thursday, August 23rd

Dear Juniors,

We completed the following on Thursday, August 23rd:

1. Students submitted their Disclosure Documents (50 points).
2. Students completed the writing assessments in order to determine if their placement in junior English is accurate.
4. We reviewed some "Writing No-No's." Please cut and paste the following aspects into WORD and then place them in the "Vocab./Mechanics" section of your notebook.

NO-NO #1: The following words are called "Dead Words" and they should not be used in your formal writing work: got, get, very, a lot, cool, stuff, sort of, kind of, like, really, good, thing,and pretty.


NO-NO #2: Please avoid the use of SECOND PERSON when writing. Second person includes the following words: you, your, yourself, and  yours.

NO=NO #3: Avoid passive voice in formal writing. Active voice adds clarity, where as passive voice makes writing flat and dull. Passive voice uses the "be verbs" (is, are, was, were, be, been, being). For example, the following sentence uses passive voice: The check was cashed at the bank. It is not difficult to use the active voice in re-writing the sentence. Molly cashed her check at the bank.

NO-NO#4: Avoid redundant phrases such as In my opinion...., I believe that....., I think that....., I am going to write about.....

NO-NO #5: Avoid absolute terms such as never, always, everyone, all, always, none.

NO-NO #6: Make sure that your structure in writing is parallel. For example the following sentence is NOT parallel. Sarah loves playing volleyball, reading poetry, and to study history.  This sentence is easy to correct  by doing the following: Sarah loves playing volleyball, reading poetry, and studying history.

HOMEWORK:
WHAT DOES ANNOTATE MEAN, Crampton? "ANNOTATE" means to underline text in order to strengthen understanding. "NOTATE" means to record information next to text in order to strengthen understanding.

So.........Your first annotated article is due on Wednesday, August 29th!

• If you  find a section of text confusing then you would underline it using BROWN.
• If you are able to make a connection ot your own life then you would underline that section of text using your PURPLE.
• Another way to annotate is by asking QUESTIONS about the text. RED is the color you will use for this annotation.
• If you come across a VOCABULARY word that you don't know use YELLOW!
• If a piece of text touches you emotionally, then BLUE is the color for that annotation.
• If a piece of writing is poetic to you, then use BLACK!
• If text gives you a different perspective then GREEN is your annotation color.
• ORANGE is the color you will use if you come across text that you find interesting.

HOMEWORK CONTINUED........

1. Your "Where I Stand" introduction is due on Monday.
2. Your Article of the Week #1 is due on Wednesday. You need to use ALL your colors and include 7-10 notations/page. I have included the color coding key for you above.


Enjoy your weekend!
Cheers,
Crampton

Welcome to Junior English! August 21st, 2012

Dear Junior English Students,

Welcome to "American Literature," otherwise known as "Junior English." I am so excited to work with you this year. Our study will pertain to American authors and their impact on society. You will have the opportunity to read exceptional pieces of literature that will effect change within your lives.

HOMEWORK for Thursday, August 23rd:
1. Remember to return your signed copy of the Disclosure Document
2. Remember to have your notebook organized and labeled with the following dividers (homework, handouts, notes, vocab./mechanics, and journal)
3. Remember that your "Where I stand" Introduction is also due on Monday, August, 27th!

 

Introductory Writing Prompt for Tuesday, August 23th

In relationship to your own abilities to write, to comprehend text, and to communicate overall, I ask that you respond to the following quote by Plato, "The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life." Do you agree or disagree with "Mr." Plato? Consider your desires regarding your educational goals and your goals for the future in junior English. Finally, consider your attitude towards learning.

I am significantly interested in your thoughts on the subject of education. Please write your name in the upper left hand corner, along with your period and seat #. Please do your best to structure your writing in an organized and thorough manner. You will have approximately 10 minutes to write your paragraph.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Cheers,

Crampton